Thanksgiving with Bones
by ICarryYourHeart16
Summary: Booth brings Bones home for Thanksgiving strictly as a partner, but fate, namely his mother, has other things in mind.
1. Chapter 1

Brennan made one last sweep of her office, trying to find something that she could take home to work on but she came up empty. Tomorrow was Thanksgiving and now that Angela was practically married to Hodgins there would be no tiny little Thanksgiving feast. She could visit her father but that only took about an hour or two off and then she had to face the rest of the day alone. She was jerked out of her thoughts when Angela flounced into her office.

"Hey sweetie, are you doing anything for Thanksgiving?"

Brennan smiled

"Oh, I guess I'll probably go visit my father and brother."

"And then?"

Brennan waved slightly as Booth popped his head in her office.

"Hey Bones."

"Hey" she answered, then turned her attention back to Angela "I have stuff."

"Come spend the holiday with me and Hodgins."

"No Angela, it's your first Thanksgiving with Hodgins. I'll just make things awkward."

Brennan turned on Booth

"Can I help you or are you just going to stare at me all day?"

Booth held up his hands in surrender.

Angela grabbed Brennan's arm.

"Brennan, don't be so stubborn. We wouldn't have invited you if we thought things would be awkward, we're just three friends spending a holiday together."

Before Brennan could protest Booth swooped in and swung an arm around her shoulder.

"Too bad Angela, she's spending Thanksgiving with me."

Brennan opened her mouth to protest, thought better of it and managed not to snarl at Booth.

"Oh," Angela's voice turned lusty and she smiled, catlike, at the two of them. "Well, have fun you two."

As soon as Angela left Brennan turned on Booth.  
"You're causing Angela to assume that, we're. The way you said… That. Booth!"

Booth snorted,

"Come on, it'll be fun. You can meet my family, spend some quality time with your partner."

Brennan grimaced

"Your family doesn't even know me"

"But now they will, besides my mom wants to meet the partner I speak so highly of."

Booth smiled at the tiny quirk in her lips. He loved the fact that he could so easily charm his partner.  
"I don't know Booth."

Booth slid her jacket over her shoulders.

"C'mon Bones, would you rather sit at home and mope?"

"I don't mope, Booth."

"Right, because it's not logical."

Brennan tugged her arm out of his grip.

"Stop patronizing me."

Booth shook his head, he could charm the hell out of her but she was just as quick to snap back to her old prickly self.

"I'll pick you up at ten, we'll go visit your dad and your brother, and then we can go to my parent's house."

Brennan paused with her hand on the door.

"I, um, I don't want to visit them. Not tomorrow."

Booth nodded, she probably didn't want to fill her head with depressing thoughts of her father and brother in prison. He could understand.

"All right, then I guess I'll pick you up at around eleven."

Brennan nodded and they walked to the parking garage together. Booth dropped a pen on the floor and stooped to pick it up. As was typical, Brennan continued walking without bothering to wait for him. He rolled his eyes as she strode purposefully to the door and trotted after her, she was so deep in thought she probably didn't even realize he wasn't beside her.

She stopped in her tracks and turned so suddenly that Booth bumped right into her and nearly sent the both of them tumbling to the floor.

"Bones!"

"What? You're the one who isn't looking where he's going."

"You stopped suddenly, without any warning."

"Well maybe your reflexes aren't what they once were."

"What? No, my reflexes are fine, maybe if you weren't in lala land all the time you'd pay more attention to your surroundings."

"My focus is fine, you're the one who ran into me."

"Which wouldn't have happened if you were paying attention."

Brennan made frustrated sound and strode angrily to the exit.

"Hey, why did you stop?"

Brennan looked confused for a split second.

"I wanted to thank you for inviting me to spend Thanksgiving with you." She bit her lip and glared at him. "It sounds stupid now."

Booth grinned.

"I'll see you tomorrow Bones, and you're welcome."

* * *

Booth knocked on Brennan's door. He heard shuffling and a muffled oath before Brennan opened the door and gave him an incredulous look.

"Booth, you're an hour early!"

Booth took in her wet hair and the purple robe.

"I thought we could eat breakfast first, you could make me an omelet."

The look of pure disgust at his comment had him chuckling as he settled onto her couch.

"Okay, I'll make us something."

"I didn't order groceries."

Booth sighed,

"Fine, then we'll get takeout."

Brennan disappeared into her bedroom and he heard the dryer start up.

"I'm not hungry!" She yelled from her bedroom.

"Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and besides we won't eat until five, when the turkey's ready!" He yelled back.

There was only the steady drone of her hairdryer and Booth settled back and sighed. She still hadn't gotten a television. He stood and wandered to her bookcase, looking over the numerous artifacts she had brought from all over the world. There wasn't a speck of dust on her bookcase and he snorted, typical.

Booth picked up a statue that looked to be a bulldog, an antelope, a bear, and a donkey all in one.

"The hell?" he said to himself.

Booth glanced at her bedroom again, the hairdryer wasn't running anymore but she was still fiddling around in her room.

"Booth!" She yelled from her room

"Yeah?"

"What should I wear?"

Booth grimaced

"Are you kidding me Bones? This isn't some weird formal event, just wear what you normally wear!"

"Fine!" She yelled back.

Booth rolled his eyes, and headed back to the couch when a tiny spot of blue caught his eye. It was the Brainy Smurf he'd given her a few weeks ago and next to that was "Jasper" the pig he'd given her when she'd shot the killer who worked with Howard Epps. Along with them were the silver and glass dolphins her father had given her and the dolphin belt buckle her mother wore, now polished to its original silver. He smiled at the fact that he meant enough to her that she put those gifts next to something that was obviously so important to her. She was just so surprising sometimes. Mostly she was hesitant to show any signs of affection towards him and then she would surprise him with something like this, or dedicate her book to him.

"I'm ready Booth."

**A/N: Yeah it's a bit late but the idea only struck me the day of Thanksgiving so there ya have it.**


	2. Chapter 2

"Are we there yet?"

"Are you kidding me Bones?" Booth glanced away from the road and gave Brennan a look.

"Well this trip would have taken significantly less time if you didn't take every alternate road you could find."

Booth groaned in frustration.

"Look, I thought we could take in the scenery, have a nice open talk, maybe resolve some of whatever the hell Sweets says is wrong with us."

"There's nothing wrong with us. Do you have a problem?"

Booth whipped his head around to stare at Brennan.

"What? No, are you going to tell on me again?"

"Look at the road Booth!" Brennan yelled grunting as Booth swung back onto his side of the road.

"And no I'm not, I've never told on you," she added.

Booth shook his head.

"Oh yeah you have, remember when I laughed at your Smurf story and you told on me? Then Sweets had that whole speech about me using my charm to get by and needing help."

"You laughed at me!" Brennan said indignantly.

Booth glanced quickly at her.

"I said I was sorry and you said you forgave me, remember?"

"I did, you're the one who brought it up again."

"You know what? Let's not talk okay. Apparently taking the long way was a bad idea."  
"Could have told you that before we left." Brennan said snidely.

Booth grit his teeth and clenched the steering wheel.

* * *

Booth pulled into the driveway of a charming brick home with an expansive front lawn. Brennan could see a group of people tossing a football by the side of the house.

"Hey mom! I'm home!" Booth yelled from the car and beeped the horn.

A woman in a large white apron that read "Worship the Cook" burst out of the door.

"Seeley!" The woman yelled out and ran to engulf Booth in a tight hug. Brennan smiled despite herself.

"You must be the partner Seeley talks about so much." The woman held a friendly hand out to Brennan.

"Mom, meet Bones."

The woman gave Booth a disgusted look.

"My son has a real yen for nicknames, I'm Sandra Booth."

"Dr. Temperance Brennan." She shook Sandra's hand.

"Temperance, what a pretty name, come on in. Seeley your father asked me to tell you to go outside, he needs you."

Brennan felt a quick tug of unease as Booth sauntered off and she was left alone with his mother.

"Well, why don't I introduce you to the rest of the family?"

"Sure," Brennan said and followed her into a warm home that smelled of cinnamon and turkey.

Booth stepped out of the house and was immediately tackled into the ground by his brother.

"Seeley! You son of a bitch how are you?" His father yelled from the other side of the yard.

"You bastard, get the hell off me." Booth grunted and bucked, laughing uproariously as his brother and he rolled over the grass. When he finally managed to get his brother off him Booth stood and grabbed his father in a hug.

"How the hell are ya Dad?"

"Never been better, your mom tells me you brought your partner home."  
Booth nodded slowly.

"Yeah, that's true, she's with mom right now, I'll bring her out to meet you guys." Seeley turned to go into the house but stopped halfway there.

"Oh and none of those jokes you guys think are so funny, she's very literal."

"Is she hot?" His brother yelled.

Booth whirled around and glared at his brother.

"Shut up Jared, she'll kick your ass before I can."

Jared laughed and clapped his dad on the shoulder.

"I love pissing him off."

* * *

"Seeley was such a strange little boy, he used to love running out buck naked with a washcloth tied around his waist with string. He pretended he was an Indian and then he would go running about, trying to make fire, swimming in the little blow up pool in the back yard pretending it was a creek. The neighbors always talked about the little bare butt boy who ran around the backyard all day."

Brennan laughed along with Sandra and the other women gathered in the kitchen but she still felt a sense of relief when Booth appeared in the doorway.

"My dad wants to meet you." Booth tugged her away just as Sandra was about to talk to her.

"Honestly Seeley," She turned to Brennan. " I honestly don't know how you work with him everyday, he drives me crazy."

Brennan grinned "Actually, we bicker quite a lot, apparently we're both too strong willed. Although Booth's tendencies towards – "

Brennan broke off as she realized whom she was talking to, but Sandra laughed.

"Oh please, anyone who can deal with my son should get a medal, he can be quite a handful."

Booth glared at his mother.

"Thanks mom, I feel ten." He wrapped an arm around Brennan and carted her off. "I'm taking her away before you corrupt her mind, or give her any more ammo to use against me."

Brennan pulled out of his grip and followed him outside.

"Your mother has your gift for understanding people."

Booth smiled,

"Yeah, it was hell trying to put anything past her."

Brennan squinted her eyes against the bright afternoon sun as they stepped outside.

"Hey, are you gonna keep that pretty lady all to yourself or are you going to share?" Booth's father boomed across the yard.

"Hilarious, dad. This is doctor Temperance Brennan, my partner."

"Temperance, nice to meet you, I'm Richard."

"Hello," she shook his hand.

Booth's brother nudged his father aside and held out his hand.

"Jared, nice to meet you Temperance, if you ever get tired of my brother, give me a call."

Brennan laughed and shook his hand,

"Nice to meet you Jared."

Booth glared at his brother and pulled Brennan away until they were out of earshot.

"Excuse my brother, he hits on anything that moves."

Brennan frowned back at his brother,

"He seems charming, he reminds me of you when you're trying to get me to do something for you."

Booth laughed,

"I do not!"

"Yes, you do."

"Seeley!"

Booth jumped at the female voice and turned to greet a beautiful blonde.

"Rachel, hey."

Rachel hugged Booth tightly and gave him a loud kiss on the mouth.

"Who's this, your girlfriend?"

Even Brennan couldn't ignore the immediate dislike in the woman's voice.

"No, I'm his partner, Dr. Temperance Brennan."

"Oh, well hi, I'm a good friend of Seeley's, Rachel."

Booth settled his hand on Brennan's lower back and Rachel's eyes followed.

"Uh, why don't we go inside Bones?"

Booth guided her back inside.

"Looks like she wants to be more than just your good friend."

Booth glared at Brennan.

"Very funny, we're just friends nothing more."

Brennan smiled and followed him into the kitchen.

"Oh Seeley, I need to run out to the store, watch the potatoes for me would you?" Sandra said as she grabbed her purse

Booth looked warily at the potatoes simmering in the oil.

"I don't know how to cook those."

"Oh honestly Seeley."

"I'll watch them." Brennan interjected

"Thanks darling, I won't be long." Sandra said and trotted out of the kitchen.

Booth tapped his knuckles on the counter while Brennan stared at the potatoes.

"Booth, that repetitive rhythm is starting to get on my nerves."

Booth scowled at her.

"You got us stuck in the kitchen."

Brennan gave him a look and turned back to the potatoes. The oil popped loudly as she turned the potatoes and she nearly dropped the spoon when a few drops singed her hand.

"Damn."

Booth was beside her in a second.

"Did it get you?" But he was already dragging her to the sink and running cold water over the pink skin.

Booth frowned at the red splotches on her otherwise porcelain skin. He touched a dishcloth to her hand and was rooting around for ointment when Brennan tugged her hand out of his.

"I'm fine Booth, it's just a tiny burn."

"Well maybe if you'd been more careful-"

"I was being careful! You're overreacting."

Booth tugged her back and spread the ointment gently over the pink.

"I don't like seeing you hurt."

He gently traced his fingers over the fresh scar on her forehead.

"Does it still hurt?"

She couldn't quite get enough air.

"The potatoes Booth." It came out a whisper.

"I'll get them."

Brennan let out an exasperated sigh as Booth ladled the potatoes out of the oil into a bowl. One of the potatoes fell with a plop back into the pot splashing searing hot droplets onto Booth's hand.

"Son of a bitch! Ah! Mother-"

"Seeley Booth!"

Brennan couldn't hold back the laughter as Booth froze in mid curse and his face fell in horror. Another potato rolled off the ladle and plopped into the oil and Booth grunted but refrained from cursing again.

Sandra's mouth twitched but her expression was firm as she nudged Booth away from the pot and finished spooning the potatoes out herself.

Brennan noticed the ointment on the counter and handed it to Booth.

"You really should be more careful Booth." She said sweetly. The glare on his face pleased her immensely.

Sandra gave the two a sidelong glance. Interesting, she thought, and then he smiled at his partner and her heart skipped a beat. The last time she'd seen that smile was when he'd held Parker in his arms for the very first time.

**A/N: I edited my first two chapters because the spacing got all wonky. So if you read these chapters before you were probably a bit confused when I jumped scenes so sorry about that, I should probably read over my things next time before posting them. Lastly, wow. Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed, you guys really made my day and I appreciate every single review, I'll thank everyone properly in my next chapter which is nonexistant at the moment thanks to a lovely disease known as writer's block.**


	3. Chapter 3

Brennan took a moment to take in the atmosphere of the home. The kitchen was warm and alive with the sounds of cooking. The living room and backyard were filled with chattering people and kids running rampant. There was the light laughter and easy conversation of a group that knew and loved one another. Booth's hand warmed at her back and she gave him a sidelong smile. It didn't occur to her that he was touching her as more than a partner. It didn't occur to her that instead of just tolerating his touches, she'd started expecting them, sometimes even wanted them.

Booth's stomach growled and he patted it with his hand.

"I'm starving."

Brennan looked up at him.

"You eat too much."

Booth stepped back in mock horror.

"Bones, feel my abs."

Brennan looked at him like he'd grown a second head.

"Absolutely not Booth."

"Feel them."

"Why?"

"Because you called me fat."

"I did not! I just said you eat too much."

"But you said it in that _tone_."

Brennan looked skeptically at him.

"I don't know what tone you're talking about."

Booth leaned close and whispered in her ear.

"Feel them."

Brennan delivered a quick punch to his gut that had him grunting in pain.

"You're getting soft," she whispered evilly.

Booth glared at her and rubbed at the sore spot on his stomach.

"You've got a streak of mean in you Bones," he said.

* * *

Rachel eyed Booth from across the room. He was definitely a fine example of the male species. The woman he had on his arm was going to pose a problem, but another woman had never stopped Rachel Thompson before. She glanced quickly at herself in the mirror. Long luxurious blonde hair, honey eyes, generous lips, and a killer figure. Rachel knew her own beauty and used it ruthlessly to get what she wanted and she wanted Seeley Booth. 

Rachel sidled up to Booth and put a hand on his arm.

"Seeley, how's Parker?" She knew exactly how to soften Booth.

"He's great. He's in first grade right now, smartest kid in the class." Booth said proudly.

Rachel smiled,

"Oh how precious, he takes after you I see."

Brennan frowned,

"Actually Booth wasn't the top of his class."

Rachel paused with her mouth open and looked at Brennan who shrugged her shoulders.

"Thanks Bones," Booth said sarcastically.

Brennan turned to him,

"Academic performance isn't always an indication of intelligence Booth. You are a prime example of that. You're not stupid."

Booth smiled at her.

"Really? Thanks Bones."

Rachel could see she was losing ground fast by the way Booth was smiling at his so-called partner.

"I always thought Seeley was very smart." Rachel said smoothly and slid her fingers up his arm flirtatiously.

Booth smiled uncomfortably.

Brennan's back stiffened and she tried to ignore to twist in her stomach.

"I'm going to the bathroom." She said and moved away from the two.

Rachel smiled smugly.

"Seeley, you're looking good." Rachel said and leaned close to him.

"You too, new haircut?"

"Oh, how sweet of you to notice."

* * *

Brennan looked across the room at Booth who was leaning close to Rachel. He had that smile he used to charm women. She rolled her eyes, to think she had thought Booth was above the cheap charms of a woman who clearly used her looks to get men. Her dislike for the woman was completely illogical 

"That girl has been trying to get her claws in my boy since they went to school together."

Brennan jumped at the voice next to her.

Sandra smiled at Brennan.

"So far she hasn't been very successful."

Brennan glanced again at Rachel who was laughing at something Booth said and hanging onto his arm.

"Booth doesn't seem to mind." She hadn't meant to sound so spiteful but Sandra nodded in understanding.

"Men are fickle creatures, they love having a woman to salve their ego's."

Brennan was about to ask why when Booth looked up and saw her.

Sandra tried very hard not to interfere with her sons lives but when she saw that they were about to make a big mistake she felt it was her duty as a mother to help her sons along. She was in the midst of a scheme to either get Rachel away from Seeley or to somehow get Temperance and Seeley alone when she saw Seeley notice Temperance. His whole face lit up with a smile and he waved her over.

"What I wouldn't give to have a man look like that when he sees me." Sandra gave Brennan a push towards Booth.

"What?" Brennan asked.

"Hurry now darling, looks like Seeley wants you."

As she watched the lovely doctor stride across the room she smiled gleefully to herself. Oh yes, her son wanted the woman, in every sense of the word.

* * *

Booth watched Brennan as she strolled towards him. Something was off; he could see it in the way she meticulously avoided his gaze and the way her back was a little straighter when she walked. He leaned close to her but she immediately moved away and gave him a look that clearly said _back off. _Booth wondered just exactly what the hell he'd done to piss her off when his mother wandered over to them. 

"Seeley darling, you haven't shown Temperance the gardens, you know how I love to show off my prize-winning roses." Sandra turned to Brennan, "I've had the trophy for top garden for the third year in a row now," she said proudly and gave Booth a push towards the door. "Hurry now, we're going to be eating soon."

Booth looked strangely at his mother. Surely she knew roses didn't bloom in the late fall, hell he knew that from the endless talks he and the other males in his family had to endure when his mother got into that gardening frenzy of hers. He realized his mother was trying to give him a hint. Maybe she knew what was up with his partner.

"Oh Rachel, you wouldn't mind helping me with the dessert would you?" Sandra noticed Rachel's reluctance to leave her son's side so she played her best card.

"Seeley's always saying how wonderful your hot fudge dessert is, he can never get enough of it."

"Really?" Rachel said and threw Booth a coy smile. "Well I guess I wouldn't want to disappoint him."

Sandra bit back a grin, her son's eyes were boring intently into the back of the pretty doctor's head, he probably hadn't heard a word of the conversation.

* * *

Brennan took a deep breath of the fresh air when they stepped outside. She realized that she was annoyed with Booth and there was no rational explanation for it. She needed to efficiently clear up the inconvenient emotion before Booth picked up on it. Damn, apparently pure logical thought wasn't going to help. She recognized that her annoyance was stemming from the fact that Booth was flirting with Rachel. Brennan gave Booth a sidelong glance; he was staring intently at her. Brennan blew out a frustrated breath. 

"What Booth?"

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong?"

She knew he was going to pry, he always pried. Damn the man.

"Nothing."

Booth snorted.

"Yeah, and I know every single bone in the body by name."

Brennan stopped in shock.

"Really? I thought you didn't care about bones."

"Sarcasm Bones, it's an essential tool, learn it."

Brennan glared at him and stalked ahead of him to the area Sandra clearly treasured. Ivy climbed the sides of a bench attached to a gazebo like roof while fountains and cupid statues were placed artfully. Flowers bloomed here and there, but mostly there was only the green from the few plants that hadn't managed to lose their foliage with the onset of winter. Dammit she couldn't tell Booth that she was annoyed that he was flirting with Rachel, he'd obviously take it the wrong way. She knew it wasn't jealousy, but Booth wouldn't see it that way. The idiot thought he was God's gift to women. So she'd make something up, something he would believe. Satisfied with her plan Brennan whirled around to tell him and found herself very neatly in his arms.

"Excuse me." She said politely and tried to back away but he held fast.

"You going to tell me what's up?"

Brennan wiggled once more and tried to shove him back but she realized she was no match for his strength.

"I was just reminded of the celebration I used to have, back when I still had family." She prayed the bluff would work, it was half-true anyway.

Booth's concerned gaze told her that he was eating up the lie and she almost wanted to do a gleeful little dance, she was so bad at lying, especially to Booth.

The hug caught her off guard, as did the warmth of him. The shiver up her spine was new but she ignored it and chalked up the unwanted tremor to the chilly wind.

Booth felt Brennan tremble in his arms and he squeezed her tighter.

"Cold?"

"I'm not sure." She whispered.

Booth ignored the tug in his gut and held her still.

"We could go inside."

He felt her shake her head and nearly jumped out of his skin when she lay her head on his shoulder. He wanted nothing more at that moment than to lay his head atop hers and just drink in the subtle scent of her. She didn't wear a perfume, he was pretty sure of that. The subtle scent he attributed to his partner was only woman and soap. Her hair though, her hair smelled of some glorious fragrance that he couldn't pinpoint exactly but there was nothing else quite like it.

Something dangerous was curling in his belly and he wasn't ready to face it, all he knew was that if he didn't let his partner go soon he was going to embarrass the both of them. Booth grit his teeth and pulled slowly away from her. She looked reluctant to let him go and he realized it was because even though she was stronger than any woman he had met she still needed someone to lean on every once in a while. It was too bad he couldn't be that person for her because if he held her in his arms too long his thoughts started wandering to places they shouldn't. She looked frail and pissed about it so he took her hand in his and gave it a friendly squeeze.

"Don't you worry, you'll have Russ and your little nieces to spend holidays with before you know it, and hopefully your Dad's case will get judged sympathetically because he turned himself in. In a few years your family will be as good as new. Brennan felt a twinge of guilt over her lie, no matter if there was a bit of truth to it. Clearly Booth cared deeply enough about her to go to any lengths to make sure she wasn't hurting. The thought made her happy and she gave his hand a quick squeeze back before releasing it.

"I bet dinner's ready."

Booth nodded.

"I bet it is, let's go before my Dad eats all the stuffing again."

**A/N: Well, after the lovely 3X09 stomped all over my already frail muse it's been hell trying to get it back. Luckily after forcing myself to open the file again and reading it through I eked a few sentences out. Then at about 12 midnight I really started flowing, seems all my creativity flows out in the dead of the night. Seriously, when I do art my best paintings/sculptures/drawings are created around one or two in the morning. Go figure. Anyway enough of my ranting, tell me what you think. **


	4. Chapter 4

The table was full of food, conversation, and laughter. Brennan couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so at home amongst a group of strangers. They'd all taken her in as a friend just because she was Booth's partner. Not including Rachel of course. The gorgeous blonde sat seething across from Booth who hadn't said much to her outside of the occasional nod or answer to a question. Brennan tried to repress the urge to gloat. Her dislike for the woman wasn't completely irrational; after all she'd been nothing but short with her ever since her arrival. Brennan turned her attention to the dinner scene. Booth's father sat at the head of the table, typical in traditional alpha-male settings and most likely where Booth got his tendencies for male dominance. She could see Booth in his father. His jaw and mouth were almost exact matches, but Booth's eyes came from his mother. Booth's nose though, she gazed at the people and then smiled in satisfaction. Yes, Booth's nose came from his grandfather. His hands were his father's, long fingers and big palms with a deep nail bed…

Booth's hand on her forearm jolted her out of her train of thought.

"Why are you so quiet?"

"I was tracing the heritage of particular traits through your family. Do you realize you have almost all of your father's traits except for your eyes and nose?"

Booth was giving her the look he always gave her when he was utterly confused by her. Brennan tried to elaborate.

" Well except personality wise, there you've inherited most of your mother's traits. The innate sensitivity to another human being's feelings, the ability to "read" a person through body language or facial expressions."

Booth frowned and looked at his fork.

"Um, that's nice Bones."

"Are you being sarcastic again?"

"A little bit." Booth chewed thoughtfully on his turkey.

"Did you just call me a girl?"

Brennan looked at him, confused.

"No, how did you derive that from what I was saying?"

"You said I have a girl personality."

"I said you have the same type of personality as your mother, emphasis on type. The wildly sexist side of you is all your own."

Booth stabbed his turkey viciously with his fork and stuffed it into his mouth.

"You can be very prickly sometimes Bones." Booth whispered

Brennan scoffed

"Hardly, you're just overly sensitive. It must be a result of an overproduction of estrogen in your system." So what if she had just pulled that last little bit out of her ass? He was starting to get on her nerves and she would use every trick in her hat to get in the last word.

Booth struggled for a moment to formulate a comeback but after a few attempts left him gaping like a fish out of water he turned back to his meal.

Sandra had been watching all of this with a sense of amusement and when Booth had finally stopped bickering with his partner she dove in for the kill.

"So, when are you planning on telling her you're in love with her?"

Booth's head snapped up and he choked on the turkey he was chewing. Sandra patted him sympathetically on the back.

"Turkey seems to be a bit dry," she said gleefully while pouring apple cider for her very flustered son.

"You shouldn't inhale your food like that, it increases the chances of choking." Brennan added as a final prod.

"That and interfering mothers who know absolutely nothing about the situation." Booth muttered angrily.

"What was that honey?" Sandra asked loudly.

Booth grit his teeth and glared at his mother.

"The turkey's not that dry."

"Oh, glad to know."

* * *

Booth pushed his food around on his plate, his appetite suddenly gone. His mother was just pushing for grandchildren again. There couldn't be any truth to her statement. It wasn't rational to… Damn it, he was starting to sound just like Bones. He turned to look at her. She was a beauty; there was no hiding that. His partner was beautiful in the way that struck you unexpectedly in the gut when you weren't expecting to see her. He remembered when they went undercover in Las Vegas and she wore that black dress that he'd picked out for her. That dress had forever ruined his image of the scholarly anthropologist with the prickly personality. Suddenly she turned into a charming little sex kitten in a black dress that molded to every curve and enhanced a few.

Booth cleared his throat forcefully and concentrated on getting through the meal. Women, they planted a little seed in your mind that grew into those vicious man-eating Venus flytraps you saw in those old b-list horror movies. He wasn't in love with his partner, because that would be way beyond crossing that stupid line of his. That would be like taping explosives to the line and throwing it under a fuel truck. He dared to glance at his partner again and he was surprised to see her laughing and chatting with his grandfather. The old man's eyes were twinkling with delight as Brennan described how she could determine age, weight, ethnicity, sex, and other things just by looking at a person's bones. Grandpa John had always been interested in scholarly topics so it was no surprise to him that he would click instantly with Bones. Booth's breath caught in his chest when she turned to him, eyes glowing and a smile with the tiniest hint of a dimple. The corners of his mouth tugged up in response until they were both grinning at each other like fools. It didn't go unnoticed.

"I think it's time for dessert!" Rachel announced brightly and she scooted off to the kitchen. Brennan looked down and noticed that one of the burns Booth had gotten from dropping the potatoes into the oil earlier had started to blister. She sucked in a breath through her teeth and gently stroked the area surrounding the small blister.

"Booth you should cover that with a bandage, it could get infected."

As was typical Booth just shrugged his shoulders.

"It's fine, it's not life threatening."

Brennan was about to argue that it was stupid to risk unnecessary pain that would result from infection when Rachel laid a possessive hand on Booth's shoulder.

"Come on Seeley, even tough guys need their wound's bandaged."

Booth reluctantly got up.

"Fine, I'll put a damn bandage on, happy?"

Rachel tsk tsk'd.

"So grumpy, come on I'll help you." And she led him to the kitchen.

Rachel rummaged around for a bandage and when she found one she took her time opening the package.

"Rachel, I can put it on myself."

"Nonsense," she said and smoothed the bandage gently over the angry red skin.  
"Thanks," Booth said and turned to go back into the dining room but Rachel caught him by the arm.

"Seeley, I've missed you."

Booth tried to come up with a response that wasn't a lie, because in reality even though Rachel had been a pretty good friend of his growing up he didn't think about her when he was in D.C. He decided on a smile and a hug, which seemed to please her.

What he didn't expect was the kiss. The hug was meant as a friendly gesture but Rachel had grabbed him by the arms and pulled him into a passionate kiss. Shock had him freezing in place and the sound of the kitchen door opening had him jumping back guiltily. Brennan's face was the first thing he saw and he couldn't quite decipher her expression. Mostly shock but something else, probably embarrassment because she thought she accidentally intruded in an intimate moment. He didn't dare look at his mother, there was nothing worse than being caught kissing by your mother.

"I'll, um, get more plates." Brennan said and walked back out despite the small tower of plates she was already carrying.

Sandra was annoyed to say the least. Her plan had hit a bump and she decided it was best to back out now. Her son obviously wasn't ready to admit his feelings for the woman and would rather spend his time kissing another.

Rachel cleared her throat and excused herself. Sandra noticed the slight swagger in her step and shook her head in disappointment.

"She kissed me."

Sandra glanced up at her son.

"Yes I could see that. Nice timing Lothario."

"No listen, _she_ kissed _me. _She's been a friend of mine forever mom, I don't even feel that way about her."

Her hopes fluttered back to life.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Uh, I don't know."

Sandra nodded and looked at the kitchen door.

"You should probably help your partner with the dishes."

* * *

Brennan stood frozen outside the kitchen and pretended to look for more dishes. The feeling pumping through her was as unfamiliar as it was inconvenient. Seeing Booth kissing Rachel had been awkward and … Unpleasant. She recognized the feeling now as jealousy but because she wasn't in a relationship with Booth it was completely unfounded. No school girl crush was making her act this way, it was just fear of losing a good friend and it was completely irrational, she told herself. Booth would still be her partner and her friend even if he started dating Rachel.

"Here, I'll get these." Booth said and whisked the plates neatly out of her hands. "And by the way, what you just walked into, that was nothing."

Brennan frowned at him.

"Booth you shouldn't be embarrassed to admit feelings for her, she's a very lovely woman."

Booth narrowed his eyes at her and tugged her discreetly into the kitchen.

"Believe me when I say, it was nothing okay. I don't feel that way about her, it was just a friendly kiss."

"Looked a lot more than friendly to me." Brennan said evenly.

"You're just trying to bug me now aren't you? When I say it's nothing, I mean it."

Brennan could see he wasn't lying and she nodded.

"Okay, I believe you."

"Good." Booth sighed in relief and looked up to see his mother staring intently at the two of them. Great, just great, he really had a knack for getting himself into difficult situations.

* * *

Soon dessert was being ladled into bowls and plates and everyone was loading up despite the enormous meal they had just ingested. Booth was staring lovingly at the pie his mother had baked and he sighed with pleasure as the first bite practically melted in his mouth. Warm cinnamon apples and a buttery crust that melted away almost before you could taste it. He closed his eyes and groaned low in his throat.

"Mom, I love you. This is amazing."

Sandra laughed and rolled her eyes.  
"Seeley's the only reason I even make pie for every holiday, the boy is so easy to please."

Brennan smiled at her partner who was shoveling pie in his mouth.

"Bones, you haven't lived till you've tasted my mother's pie, eat this."

He stuck his fork into her pie and broke off a piece.

"Eat this."

Brennan gave him a look of disgust and snatched the fork out of his hand.

"I can feed myself."

Booth shrugged his shoulders and swiped her fork.  
"Suit yourself." But he watched as she took a bite.

Her eyes widened slightly and her mouth tipped up in surprised pleasure.

"This might be the most delicious pie I've ever eaten."

Booth grinned in delight.

"What did I tell you?"

* * *

Soon it was time to go back home and after a long goodbye they were settled in the car and ready to go. The drive home was silent and Booth smirked in amusement when he noticed Brennan was asleep. They were only a few blocks from her apartment and he hated to wake her, sometimes he wasn't quite sure what kept her running.

He pulled to a stop in front of her building and killed the engine. Her lips were slightly parted and her lashes brushed the tops of her cheekbones. He realized with a hard punch to the gut that he had way more than friendly feelings for his partner. If he didn't watch himself he would fall hard for her. She opened her eyes and smiled

"Hey," she whispered.

Too late! His mind screamed at him. Booth shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Hey, you're home."

"Oh," she stretched and Booth bit his lip at the sight of a milky white strip of skin. He jumped out of the car and waited until she had gotten out to lock his car.

They walked side by side to her door when Brennan turned around.

"You know, you don't have to walk me to my door."

"I do what I have to do to keep you safe."

Brennan was about to argue but she let it slide, she didn't want anything to ruin the day.

"Okay, would you like some coffee?"

Booth's mind was screaming at him to refuse but instead all he did was smile

"That sounds great."

Brennan smiled back and unlocked her door.

* * *

"Thank you for inviting me to spend the day with you Booth, I had a really good time."

Booth smiled at her.

"You're welcome."

Brennan took another sip of her coffee and stared at the floor. Something was off. Booth seemed oddly distant and uncomfortable. He was sitting as far away from her as possible and he kept cracking his knuckles, a sure sign that he didn't want to be there. She looked up at him.

"You can go if you want."

Booth stopped mid sip.

"What?"

"You seem impatient to leave, you won't hurt my feelings if you do."

Booth let out a sigh.

"You're not supposed to be good at reading people remember?" He smiled "I don't want to leave, Bones. I'm just, my mom said some things to me, some stuff completely out of left field that, well it just it's bothering me I guess. Kind of wondering if there is any truth in what she said."

Brennan leaned forward

"What did she say?"

Booth stood quickly when he noticed the top of her blouse dipping and revealing twin swells of pale skin.

"I um, maybe I should go, we both have work tomorrow." He hurried to her kitchen and set the cup lightly in the sink.

He jumped when he turned to find Brennan directly behind him. The look on her face was pure confusion.

"You're acting very strange Booth."

"Yeah I know, I'm sorry." He leaned back against the counter and stared at her.

Delicate, slim hands efficiently washing the two cups and setting them on a rack to dry. She turned around, big blue green eyes that bore into his and he knew that he needed to test this theory of his mother's. It would bug him if he didn't and besides after he did what he needed to do he would probably get punched or slapped but then he would simply explain the situation to her and she would understand because she was logical that way. He stepped closer to her and noticed that she no longer stiffened slightly. Booth swallowed hard and lay his lips gently on hers. Immediately her body stiffened, straight as a rod but she didn't move away. Being this close to her and touching her this intimately was completely new, yet it didn't feel like he was committing some immoral sin. He slid a hand onto her waist and tugged her closer. She erupted like a volcano in his arms. She grabbed at his shirt and started kissing him back and all of a sudden he lost brain function.

She couldn't get enough of him, strong arms, the slight stubble that scraped over her chin, and the very smell of him. They were plastered against each other and the low grunts rumbling through him vibrated against her chest. His hands raced up her blouse and the feel of his hands against her bare skin was driving her wild. She tugged his shirt out of his slacks and hurriedly opened the buttons; the need to be skin to skin was overwhelming. The loud ring of her cell phone pierced the air and reality fell with a thump right in the middle of them. They broke apart and stared at each other.

As he looked at his partner's flushed face and swollen mouth only one word seemed to sufficiently sum up the situation. _Fucked._

* * *

**A/N: I just wanted to thank everyone for their wonderful reviews. I have replied to most of you and if you haven't gotten a reply you've either just recently left me a review or I couldn't think of anything to say except for Thank You, and the thesaurus has run out of different ways to say thank you. Mmm, maybe I should switch to different languages... :) Anyway, tell me what you think, especially the last little bit, too fast? Too lame? Just stupid? Be honest! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Title: Thanksgiving with Bones**

**Author: thepinkllama**

**Pairing: Brennan/Booth**

**Rating: PG-13**

**Summary: Booth takes Brennan home for Thanksgiving strictly as a partner, but fate, namely his mother, has other thing in mind.**

**Spoilers: Takes place after 3X08, but before 3X09**.

The reality of what they had just done sat like a boulder in between them. A huge flaming boulder of doom, he thought ruefully. She just stared at him like he was some strange bone formation. Booth looked at her phone.

"You should probably answer that." Should give him enough time to collect his thoughts.

Brennan grabbed desperately at the phone and answered it with a breathless "Hello"

_Way to keep 'em wondering Bones_ Booth thought with a twinge of amusement.

"Uh, are you okay sweetie?"

Angela's voice made Brennan blush profusely.

"Yes of course, why?"

"You sounded a little out of breath that's all."

"Oh, did you need something Angela?"

"Is that Angela?" Booth's attempt at a casual question failed miserably when his voice came just short of squeaking.

"Is that Booth? Is that why you're so breathless?" The lusty sound of Angela's voice practically oozed out of the phone.

"No! No, we were um, moving furniture."

_Moving furniture?_ Booth mouthed

Brennan glared at him.

"Okay, well when you're done _moving furniture _you can come over to the lab, the Jeffersonian couldn't reach you so they called me. Apparently they have some bones that need to be authenticated for the Iron Age display as soon as possible."

"Okay, I'll be right over."

"Alright, bye."

Brennan set her phone slowly on the counter. Finally after a long moment of uncomfortable silence she looked up at Booth. He was staring intently at her.

"Now what?"

For the first time in her life there was no logical answer that sprang quickly to mind. They could ignore the fact that the kiss had happened at all, but that would only serve in driving a wedge between them as well as making their workplace extremely uncomfortable. They could acknowledge that it happened and just kind of go on from there but for some reason just "going from there" never really worked for her.

"I don't know." She said quietly.

Booth sighed and scrubbed his hands over his face.

"I care about you Bones."

"But you don't think we will work as a couple. I understand." The little sliver of hurt slicing through her heart was best kept locked up.

"No, I don't know if we will work as a couple, some crazy part of me thinks we could be great together, but most of me just doesn't know. Maybe I'm just a little scared."

Brennan frowned at him.

"But you're never scared."

"I get scared plenty."

Brennan nodded and bit her nails, her head was shouting a million things at once and that feeling in her chest was slowly squeezing until she felt that she couldn't quite breathe.

"Logically, we're attracted to each other."

Booth was about to protest but maybe dealing with this unfathomable thing in between the two of them was the way to go.

"Yes."

"We're both adults so I think we should just, kind of," She paused, searching for the right words. "Get it over with."

"What?" He practically jumped out of his skin. "You mean, sleep together? You really think that would solve this?"

Brennan nodded, slowly becoming more accustomed to the idea.

"The human mind will naturally desire something more if it is unattainable or set in the light of the forbidden fruit, so if we just treat this logically without any emotional attachments we can easily go on after tonight and continue working together without any further complications."

Booth shook his head.

"No way, because in my experience sex and work don't mix, there are always complications."

"Because someone always wants more, am I right?"

Booth nodded slowly

"I guess"

"Well we both have no intention of taking this any further so there should be no problem."

Booth groped for an answer, some kind of argument, but the truth was that he wanted nothing more.

"So I guess we just, tonight?"  
Brennan nodded and stepped forward. They stared at each other for a full ten seconds before Booth started snorting with laughter. Brennan crossed her arms and gave a frustrated sigh.

"Maybe we should alter the environment, there are many things that can serve as an aphrodisiac."

Booth cocked his head

"Can't you just say we should light a couple of candles, maybe play some music?"

The glare made him bite his tongue and turn towards the CD player. He flicked it on without a thought and was completely speechless when a weird groaning, croaking sound blasted out. He pressed stop and took the CD out.

"Tibetan Throat Singers" he read out loud.

Brennan snatched the CD from his hand.

"I was working on something."

Booth lifted his hands in surrender and rooted around in her cabinets for matches or a lighter.

* * *

Brennan watched his every move as he lit the decorative candles she had as well as setting out some of the emergency candles she kept stashed in her drawer. Nerves clawed at her stomach and she took a hesitant step towards her bedroom. There was a dark blue negligee in the very bottom of her drawer, a black lace contraption that made her feel powerful and sexy and it came with matching thigh length stockings, and a white lace bra and panty set she hadn't gotten a chance to wear. Brennan disappeared into her room and pulled on the red negligee. She'd worn it with Sully and because that brought up sad memories she ripped it off and threw it across the room. She glanced at the black lingerie set and quickly reached for the white lace bra and panties. She looked at herself in the mirror and frowned. She looked stupid. She pulled her hair out of the ponytail and fluffed it, sprayed on a spurt of perfume and walked out anyway.

Booth looked up when heard her open the door. Skin that looked and felt as smooth as porcelain glowed from the candlelight and was cupped by white lace. She'd let her hair down and it framed her face in soft waves. He stood and held his arms out to her, not quite believing anything was real.

"You look beautiful."

"You don't have to romanticize Booth."

He leaned close,

"It's fact."

He slid his hands gently up and down her waist. She felt firm, smooth, and warm. He smelled the perfume she wore and touched his lips to hers. She responded hesitantly. Booth scooped her up to carry her to the bedroom.

"No!" Booth paused and looked down at her.

"The couch is better."

Booth was surprised at the hurt slicing through his chest.

He set her down and pulled his shirt over his head. He saw her ogling his chest and smiled.

"Hot for me yet?"

She rolled her eyes and Booth laughed as he sat down beside her. They stared at each other.

"This is really awkward."

"It'll be worse if we stop now."

"What kind of screwed up logic is that?"

Brennan stood up indignantly

"You are so hard to get along with."

"Yeah well it's not like you're Miss freakin' Congeniality."

She sighed exasperatedly and plopped down next to him.

"This is obviously not going to work."

Booth glared at her.

"Yeah, you want to know why?"

"Not at all."

"Because I want more than just sex."

Brennan leaped up from the couch and gaped accusingly at him.

"What! No, we had an agreement."

"Fuck the agreement." Booth growled and yanked her into his lap.

"I love you, and I care about what have together, there's no way I'm going to cheapen it with stupid sex."

Brennan was still sputtering over the "I love you" part.

The room was suddenly quite and Brennan felt fear skittering in her chest, but underneath the fear lay warmth she was wary to lose.

"Booth, this isn't good."

"You're telling me." He pressed a kiss to her forehead and hugged her close, crushing her to his chest.

"Oww… Booth you're squishing me."

Booth released her and stared at the woman in his arms.

"I know this is going to complicate things and maybe totally screw up everything but I need to be with you Temperance. There's nothing I want more."

Brennan stared at him. Seconds turned into minutes and the silence became a heavy blanket.

"Don't call me Temperance."

"It's your name."

"I like Bones, it's… Special, to me." She finished.

Booth felt hope glimmer in his chest. Fuck that, it was an all out marching band with girls in tutu's tossing batons.

"I think that something like this, the relationship we have come to share doesn't come around every century, and I don't want to lose that."

Booth couldn't help the grin that split his face.

"Do you love me?"

"No."

It was almost comical the way his face fell.

" Booth."

She touched her lips gently to his.

"I didn't let myself fall in love with you because I knew it would only serve to complicate things."

"Oh."

"But nothing's stopping me now."

"Oh." This time it was said with a smile.

Booth kicked his shoes off and carried her to her bed.

**A/N: I am so ashamed, I totally ditched this story, but I have a good explanation, really. See there was this, um… What I mean was… See my muse and I got into an argument… So there was this thing with a smut story. All right I really have no good excuse so I only ask that you forgive me for delaying so long with the ending. I didn't want to add smut because the last time I wrote smut I completely drained any semblance of creativity for weeks. SERIOUSLY. Pshh… I'll still write smut, just not for this story.**


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